Review: The Palisade (Lavender Shores #1) by Rosalind Abel

Confident businessman Joel Rhodes sees the small California town of Lavender Shores as nothing more than a business opportunity and a final stepping stone to the position he’s been working toward his entire life. It was supposed to be just one night in town to close the deal, and sleeping with one of the local men, no matter how gorgeous, meant nothing more than a few hours of fun.
Andrew Kelly is perfectly content with the life he has in his hometown. So much so that the only thing missing is someone to share it with. Going to bed with a tourist was never meant to be the answer to his dreams, just a beautiful distraction. He could get back to looking for Mr. Right the next day.
Both Andrew’s and Joel’s worlds are turned upside down when a few hours of pleasure get extended to a couple of days. Even that shouldn’t have been a big deal. You can’t fall in love in that amount of time. That isn’t how it works. However, if destinies collide, a few short days may be all it takes to find your soul mate. Even so, when secrets and motivations get tangled, fate may do nothing more than leave two hearts in pieces.

I received this book for free from the Publisher or Author in exchange for an honest review, or I purchased it with my own funds. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I find that an easy way for me to rate my enjoyment of a book can be based on how long it took me to read it. I find the time to devour a book that I am immensely interested in. I don’t believe that The Palisade was missing anything but it was a near miss for me. I had no problems setting this book aside for days at a time. There were numerous aspects that I enjoyed. I cannot point out a single one that I hated or disliked. I just never really got into Joel and Andrew.

We’ve all read that story where the business tycoon strolls into town with a very specific objective. All it takes is one night with that unexpected person to turn all those well planned ideas into chaos. Joel is that business man and Andrew is the right guy that has always been missing from Joel’s lie. That’s great except I found myself in a book with an obvious elephant that you know exactly what will happen next. The lies by many omissions have to get exposed. It became predictable.

The one thing that is vastly different than the other similar books is Lavender Shores itself. The town is unique and quirky. We get to meet a handful of its residents. It’s a California coastal town that has some very strict guidelines and laws. They are in place to protect the property and business owners. It’s what keeps the town alive and the businesses striving. The love of Lavender Shores is what has kept Andrew there and ultimately prevented him from finding love. Small town life isn’t for everyone. That is one of the reason Andrew has so many failed past relationships. He knows what he wants even though at most times it seems unattainable.

Joel believes he knows what he wants. He needs to secure this business transaction to prove to his father that he is responsible enough for Harvest Coffee. This is another of those aspects that we’ve all read before. No matter what Joel does with his business or personal life he will never be good enough for his father. Once in Lavender Shores he sees a side of himself he never knew existed. He sees a life that he can have that will be full of everything he truly needs. He can even have the love of a handsome man who has no expectations of him. He just has to let go of all the things he thought were important and grasp what is offered in this small town.